DeSantis is playing politics with Florida’s financial future if he doesn’t pick a CFO | Opinion  

Who’s paying the bills for Florida? It’s a real question. As of Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is no longer in office, having resigned from the state’s top financial post to run for Matt Gaetz’s open seat in Congress, and there’s no one yet to replace him.

Patronis has called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the CFO position before April 2 so the state doesn’t run “afoul” of laws for making state payments, as as Politico’s Gary Fineout reported. And Patronis pushing hard: On March 25, he ordered that his name be stripped from all Department of Financial Services documents, including payments starting March 31. In the memo, he even specifically said he was revoking permission to use an autopen to sign any documents on his behalf.

Are Patronis’ actions going to force the governor to name a successor?

Initially, DeSantis said he was not going to fill the CFO position until after the legislative session ends on May 2. But with no one in the CFO seat and questions about who is handling Florida’s finances, DeSantis may need to appoint a successor sooner than he’d like.

DeSantis has already put off appointing a lieutenant governor, an an important cabinet position. But the vacancy left by Patronis is critical to the functioning of the state.

A chance to fill cabinet or other high-level vacancies through gubernatorial appointment is rare. And yet this year alone, DeSantis has appointed former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to a U.S. senate seat, former DeSantis Chief of Staff James Uthmeier to the post of Florida attorney general and is mulling the opening for lieutenant governor that was created when his former running mate, Jeanette Nunez, became interim president of Florida International University.

That’s a lot moves on the political chessboard for a lame duck governor who wants to create a legacy. Holding onto those appointments gives the governor bargaining chips. But choosing a CFO now would be best for the state, something Patronis noted in his resignation letter to DeSantis.

“It is especially important that there is an identified CFO as the Legislature enters its second half of meetings,” Patronis wrote. “Issues related to the budget and insurance are of high importance this session, and a formal appointment will ensure the agency doesn’t run afoul of Florida Statute 17.52,” which pertains to money being paid out from the state treasury.

As his replacement, Patronis is backing Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican and former chair of the Republican Party of Florida. Gruters also has President Trump behind him. But Gruters and DeSantis have had a tense relationship. Gruters backed Trump, not DeSantis, in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Gruters also backed the constitutional amendment last year to allow recreational marijuana, an issue DeSantis spent state money to combat. (The proposed law got about 56% of the vote but failed to reach the necessary 60% for a constitutional amendment.)

State Sen. Blaise Ingolgia, a Republican from Spring Hill, also has been mentioned as a possible CFO.

In a legislative session where DeSantis is facing serious headwinds, especially from the House, he may be politically smart to keep lawmakers guessing about who will be rewarded with a plum job such as CFO. But that’s not best for Floridians.

Last week, the governor-versus-Legislature friction that first emerged during January’s special sessions became even more apparent with the release of proposed state budgets that include dueling tax cuts. (DeSantis wants to cut property taxes; the House wants to cut sales taxes.) The rest of the regular session is looking rocky at this point.

And yet DeSantis’ governorship is inevitably winding down. He maybe contemplating another presidential run. His wife, Casey DeSantis, may run for governor in 2026. Trump has already endorsed Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, though.

But the CFO job shouldn’t be a pawn in the state battle for power. It’s too important; the CFO is head of the Department of Financial Services, state Fire Marshal, handles payments to state vendors and oversees the Office of Insurance Regulation, a crucial role in Florida right now.

DeSantis must put Florida above his own political desires. Florida’s financial operations cannot be held hostage by the political desires of governor struggling to keep power.

Click here to send the letter.

This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 10:42 AM.